The Silurian Scythe
by Seth Selwyn
Summary: Caden McAllen finds the biggest discovery anyone on Earth has ever made; a subterranean city underneath his hometown, Cornwallis, Arizona. But when the inhabitants chase him out, he is rescued by the perfect man for the job - the Doctor, who is accompanied by Clara Oswald. This story is meant to be like an episode of the series, and it takes place just before "Nightmare in Silver."


I slammed the door behind me and ran. I didn't have a destination, I just ran. And while I ran, I ranted. Out loud, mind you. I always talk out loud to myself. Of course, yelling about my parents while sprinting was not the best idea, especially for a boy who normally didn't breathe well, but I didn't care. I fumed about how ridiculous they were, how they never listened to me or what I want.

Somehow, I lost track of time. In internal seconds, I found myself at the base of a hill. I sat down heavily in the red dirt. I looked around, and, finding myself alone, I let the tears that pooled up in my eyes fall to the ground like raindrops. First, like a small drizzle. However, the downpour became comparable to a monsoon stormAfter a few minutes, I regained my composure. After standing and dusting myself off, I stared up at the short cliff behind me. In my newly cleared sight, I saw a small overhang jutting out from the rough sandstone wall.

Just as I was beginning to turn back around in disinterest, I glimpsed something that caught my attention - a flash of a reflective material.

As I reached the overhang, I looked under it, finding that it wasn't just a piece of rock jutting out. Rather, it was the mouth of a cave. I climbed inside and headed to the back of it. Farther in I walked. Farther still. Ignoring stories of an eight year old girl walking into a magical wardrobe, I headed farther than I thought the size of the hill, or lack thereof, would allow.

Finally, I reached the back of the cave. However, what I thought marked the end of my little adventure was really just a corner, like that of two corridors meeting perpendicularly. As I peered into the blankness around the bend, I heard a noise. It was soft and echoed off of the stone walls, but my brain did what most minds can do under normal circumstances - it recognized speech in the sound.

I still couldn't make out specific words, but from its tone and my well-supplied knowledge of raised voices, I could tell that the person to whom the voice belonged was yelling angrily.

Now, most people, if they found a deep cave where an unknown person was yelling, would remove themselves from said cave as fast as their legs could possibly carry them. But I am not most people.

I always have dreamt of having my own adventure, so I always am prepared in case one comes up. I pulled the small electric light I always have with me out of my pocket. Holding it in front of me, I ducked into the dark tunnel. The ground sloped beneath me, bringing me deeper into the ground.

As I dropped to lower and lower levels below the surface, the yelling grew louder. After a few minutes, it seemed to die down and eventually stop completely. That did little to deter my determination in proceeding down the tunnel, however, and soon, I began to notice the walls around me begin to get brighter. I switched off my light and slowed my advance to a more cautious, quiet pace.

I neared the end of the tunnel. The light became so bright that I thought I must be going into daylight. However, as I stepped carefully to peek around the corner, I found that to be far from true.

The tunnel let out onto a path on the outside edge of a gargantuan cavern that was somewhat circular. There were hundreds of other tunnels carved into the stone walls, presumably leading to the surface. The path itself was not the amazing part of my findings, however. What caused my mouth to drop open dumbly in awe was the city.

The path was a balcony around a gigantic pit, and in the middle of the crater was a hive of green-tinted glass spheres. The largest of the spheres looked like it could contain all of my town above inside of it. The other orbs housed facilities the size of a large neighborhood. The glass balls were woven together through metal tubes that interconnected them like a monstrous web.

I wandered dazedly across the path to the industrial rail handrails. In my awe, I forgot all of my caution. Big mistake.

Moments passed, though it could have been hours, while I stood dumbfounded by this subterranean metropolis that I had discovered. Suddenly, I heard a gruff voice shouting. I looked toward the voice and instantly knew I was in trouble. The man was dressed in a non-friendly-looking black leather uniform and a strange silver mask that looked reptilian. I acted on my initial impulse and began to run back into the tunnel.

Footsteps echoed behind me, and I knew I had pursuit. I sprinted faster, my speed fed by adrenaline and fear. Despite my faster ascent, the journey down seemed shorter than this chase. Finally, I reached the mouth of the cave. I dove through the opening, rolling painfully down the hill.

At the bottom of the hill, I landed in a pile of agony. I stood and brushed it off, and then prepared continue my escape. Just as I turned around, a man brushed past me. He was closely followed by a short woman with dark hair. The two had appeared out of nowhere, having simply materialized from the chilly air. I halted my exodus in confusion at these two strangers' arrival.

I watched as the strange man scrambled up the red hill. The woman settled in beside me. Just as the new arrival arrived at the mouth of the cave, three of the masked beings popped into view. The man sprayed the others with a large fire extinguisher that I didn't realize he had been holding. When the stream of liquid carbon dioxide hit the people in masks, they made an inhuman noise that was a mixture of a scream and a hiss, and then retreated into the cave.

After another spray for good measure, the man slid down the hill, causing his amethyst suit to turn a shade browner. He strode in long steps to where I stood.

Addressing the woman next to me, he he exclaimed, "That could have been worse," in a very British accent. He let the fire extinguisher drop the the ground with a loud _clunk_.

"Um, excuse me?" the other replied defiantly. "We were on our way to Hawaii! And in case you were confused, this is _not_ Hawaii!"

The man looked a little hurt. "We almost made it! At least we're in America!" He motioned back to the hill. "And clearly the TARDIS brought us here on purpose."

"Okay, hold on," I interrupted. "Who on earth are you two. And what the heck is a TARDIS?"

The man turned around quickly, surveying me as if he hadn't noticed I was there. "Right. My apologies. Always forget that part. " He straightened his bow tie with obvious experience. Smiling goofily, he continued, "Hello. I'm the Doctor, and this is Clara."


End file.
